Bridging health and global climate policy: Opportunities for policymakers and health systems

TL;DR

This paper outlines how health systems can influence climate policy by integrating health-focused commitments into climate agreements and reducing carbon emissions.

Contribution

The paper introduces actionable commitments for integrating health into climate policy and outlines roles for health systems in decarbonization and data reporting.

Findings

Health systems can influence climate policy by reporting climate-health data and driving decarbonization.

Integrating measurable health commitments into NDCs can mobilize climate finance and improve health outcomes.

Multi-level platforms connecting health stakeholders with policymakers can enhance climate-health coordination.

Abstract

•NDCs must integrate measurable health commitments to accelerate policy progress.•Health systems must report climate-health data to influence climate policy.•Health systems must drive decarbonization to advance mitigation and adaptation goals.

NDCs must integrate measurable health commitments to accelerate policy progress.

Health systems must report climate-health data to influence climate policy.

Health systems must drive decarbonization to advance mitigation and adaptation goals.

Health is increasingly recognized as a priority within global climate policy yet remains underrepresented in instruments such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The 2025 NDC Revision Cycle, ahead of COP30, presents a critical opportunity to operationalize existing health-related recommendations by integrating measurable, health-focused commitments into NDCs. This article proposes a set of actionable commitments aligned with broader priorities to mobilize health-specific climate finance, phase out fossil fuels, integrate climate-health indicators, advance health-related mitigation and adaptation strategies, and synchronize with national health strategies, which are suitable for adoption in the 2025 NDC revisions and future policy processes.

In parallel, we outline how the healthcare sector can accelerate uptake of these health-focused commitments and advance national mitigation and adaptation goals by: (1) strengthening climate-health data infrastructure, (2) establishing multi-level platforms that connect health stakeholders with policymakers, and (3) implementing decarbonization strategies.

By embedding health-focused commitments into NDCs and positioning healthcare systems as data providers and decarbonization leaders, these measures can elevate the health sector’s influence on climate policy, enhance real-time awareness of health risks, and mobilize climate financing. We situate these recommendations within the live policy window of the 2025 NDC revision cycle, the 2028 Global Stocktake, and persistent financing gaps to foster more informed, coordinated engagement by the health sector in shaping global climate commitments.